This site needs new topics first of all, not enough new posts because the topics aren't there to post it. Even if there're as archaic as 'favourite games character' or 'favourite tv show' etc, at least everyone can have an opinion on that. Merging with GTA Wiki should be obvious to do to increase interest, surely, and maybe some competitions now and again would work well, but then again most people will just register for the competition and then never post again.

I also voted for 'used to feel like part of the community' because this place is so empty now.

4.)Merging with Grand Theft Wiki: I don't see what bad would come from that personally, but I also don't know the full details of what this would entail.

Well GTW is full of detailed, in-depth content, useful information on just about every subject, lists etc. But the community is quite silent, people just get on with it, add/edit content, and don't hang around to chat. Often, new information can take quite a while to get on, as nobody is dedicated to make sure it is up-to-date.

TGTAP had the community and the frequently-updated news, and it also has the downloads. It's very light on the information and content side.

So a merger would take the best of both. Users on GTW would be invited to discuss things on TGTAP - every page could have a link to the relevant subforum or topics. Visitors to TGTAP could read the detailed content from the wiki rather than half a page of copied-and-pasted content.

Sound okay to you? The technical details are yet to be worked out, but it wouldn't be a full merger like renaming it to TGTAP Wiki or GTW Forums.

one thing that could help is to get staff members that are respectful. i stopped regularly posting here a couple years ago cuz most of the staff are, sorry to say, assholes in situations where its really unnecessary. and it makes me really uncomfortable that i cant post my thoughts without them attacking me...just an idea

You know what, I'm going to completely agree. Mistakes were made in the past, including mistakes made by myself. I can honestly say, though, at this time I think we're all well experienced enough to handle all sorts of situations without getting emotionally involved in them. That is our duty as staff.

You might be wondering if we need a different type of staff than what we have now. My answer would be no. I feel that all of us on the present staff team are experienced enough to handle situations with dignity and respect, in any case. Of course, if someone is blatantly breaking the rules and it seems that this someone is obviously doing it on purpose, then we may be a little more aggressive in our treatment. I feel that this is necessary, though.

I think it's definitely a possibility that the old staff partially caused the inactivity, but I can't say that was the only reason. As I said before, there's no GTA news. This is a huge problem for this website. However, there are plenty of other factors that haven't been discovered yet and we are doing our best in trying to figure out how we can make this site more beneficial for you. This is what this topic is for. So, please, speak your minds. There are no judgements.

In any case, you do not need to feel uncomfortable messaging one of the admins (Gerard) if you feel there is a problem with a moderator or any other type of staff. I can assure you he takes these concerns very seriously and will do his best to resolve it in a peaceful manner. Hopefully, though, this will not need to happen anymore. I'm almost positive it won't.

My suggestion, is to add video walkthroughs. I have told Chris about this idea a long time ago he approved but nothing else happened. This would be a good way to promote a lot of people in the TGTAP community.

I feel somewhat bad, I used to contribute a lot to this forum and I still feel like a part of the community despite going, as one could say "AWOL" for the near part of a year, coming back once every two or three months. The big issue here isn't with the forums, it's that the GTA series has died because there has been a sheer lack of any information on any new game that could potentially be released in the next few years. That's what GTA communities need, a brand spanking new GTA game for everyone to get excited about.

Moving swiftly on...

As for the poll, I voted on the following:

- New and more active staff: I feel somewhat guilty here as well, being a forum boss. I haven't been around to look after the Vice City Forum. With regards to this issue, it's weird that I know every single one of the staff members and I have only been gone a year and a half - in other words, it's practically the same since I left, except there's no Spaz The Great anymore. - Extra site features and new types of content: Self explanatory, although I'm not quite sure what needs to be added but it would be certainly a good addition.- Focus on the gang system again: I would totally rejoin the Fiore Family Mafia if it were to be recreated, of course, the gang system would need to be rebooted. I would never have a problem with the gang system, in fact, it kept me on here when I was bored. It will certainly increase activity but I know that not everyone will be for this option. I gave me some great memories to say the least.

In the likely event that after I post this message I won't be seen for another 2 months (Facebook and MSN non-inclusive for those who have either), I would like to wish you good luck in revamping and hopefully bringing the forums back up to its former glory, or better. Alternatively, I could try to come on here more often, I miss talking to some of you guys, especially Scott., Spider-Vice, mpilk, Gerard and so on... it could be good to return as a full time member

I'm hoping that we all pull together (at the same time) and make a decent effort to get this place moving again. It's no use one or two people being active for a few weeks, getting bored, then two other people coming back. A big reboot is definitely the order of the day.

However, I would like a handful of people to help with this rebooting. Planning how we do everything, and perhaps becoming staff. Nothing is out of the question right now.

I'm happy to help, I know this was posted last month but I'm more than happy to help. I really want this forum to get lively again but I can see the problem that there has been no GTA V news for so long.

Chris never finished building the gang system, so on-forum gang wars never really happened. When we upgraded to IPB 3, the modifications had to be completely discarded.

The MTA servers were fun for a while, but nobody finished the coding required to link it into the forum or do any gang-related games, so it was just a plain old MTA server.

A few months ago, the gang forums were closed off and gangs ceased to exist. Only a handful of people bothered with gangs, and members were being active in the gang forums instead of the public ones, making us look even more inactive.

I think gangs were good, but they need to be done properly. We're going to have a rethink (based on this topic) about how we move forward, and I think gangs will be making a partial comeback. But I don't think that a MMORPG-type system will exist (ie: gang wars), nor MTA integration, not for a while.

If there's one thing the gang system needs it's refinement. It needs to focus down to the core aspects and focus on perfecting them.

Even if, for example, we made them 100% random, you're assigned a gang after you're 100th, 200th post (encourages 1 time visitors to become active, learn to love the community and use it as a reliable, regular source of info) and gives us something unique to have a bit of fun with.

I'm always somewhere, here, ish. I spend a eidiculous amount of time on the computer (If I'm not at home, I'm on a mac, if I'm not there, I'm leeching people's wifi off my phone)

We've got the potential. I'll gladly pitch in to realise it where I can.

I agree, the gang systems were not done properly. In fact, I don't think I should have ever been a leader/member because of my moderating position, so if the gang system does come back up I will gladly hand over my position to whoever is below me in the gang. Maybe even the staff can have a gang, but just for staff related stuff (could be kind of cool, we'll have to think about this idea. Haven't thought it out enough yet. I'm thinking sort of like a teacher team in a school against students , obviously we don't think of you guys as students, but I think you'll see my point.)

Anyway, we'll have another topic about the gang system soon, as Gerard said.

4.)Merging with Grand Theft Wiki: I don't see what bad would come from that personally, but I also don't know the full details of what this would entail.

Sound okay to you? The technical details are yet to be worked out, but it wouldn't be a full merger like renaming it to TGTAP Wiki or GTW Forums.

Sounds more than okay! The technical details were really what I meant by saying, "but I also don't know the full details of what this would entail" and only because I don't know how much work it would be for you guys to do it(wish I was more knowledgeable on that sort of thing though, and hell, if there's anyway I CAN help, I'm more than willing).

Honestly I think the PSP games had a lot to do with it, especially with Edison Carter's cheatdevice, that got a lot of people online because it was fun and easy to use. There hasn't been a lot of GTA stuff going on lately, so people don't go online for it as much. All that's happening is waiting really, i wouldn't say its your fault, its just what happened.
As for what to do, I guess merging the wiki and forums would help bring users and activity, the gang system was something fun to do in the down time, thats why I originally joined, and haven't been very active since.

Alternatively, I could try to come on here more often, I miss talking to some of you guys, especially Scott., Spider-Vice, mpilk, Gerard and so on... it could be good to return as a full time member

Haha, thanks for the warm hidden re-welcome; I'll try to come back but I've been busy, and well, forgetting this forum gradually as it's starting to get dead but I see some new stuff. New member groups and awards, now this is how we should keep up. What's remaining here is the all-latest news.On another hand, I would seriously re-join the FFM again as a Consigliere if the gangs system came back, though we'd have to assure its stability (of the system) and maybe try to get a MTA server and someone who could be active in both European and American times to moderate and manage it.

we'd have to assure its stability (of the system) and maybe try to get a MTA server and someone who could be active in both European and American times to moderate and manage it.

That is simply not possible. Aiming to get that to work would just be another big fail for this forum, and we can't afford that.

Instead of aiming for a super-awesome gaming experience, we should make a decent forum experience that we KNOW we can maintain and manage easily, and that we know can help this site grow back and become better than ever.

We're trying to figure this out, but it's not going to be MTA-centric, as epic as that may be.

one thing that could help is to get staff members that are respectful. i stopped regularly posting here a couple years ago cuz most of the staff are, sorry to say, assholes in situations where its really unnecessary. and it makes me really uncomfortable that i cant post my thoughts without them attacking me...just an idea

I only just started posting here today so I'm very new, but I immediately noticed this place was very inactive. I began poking around the forums anyway for any interesting threads and came across a couple posts by a certain mod that were directed at another poster, their posts were pretty disrespectful, and not a very welcoming sight seeing that there is a mod insulting a someone. It just doesn't look good seeing forum officials acting that way.

For that reason I voted for new staff, I know not every mod/admin on these boards are like that. Reading through posts I've spotted some very nice people here, but every community has its bad seeds too, and it doesn't take a lot of them to scare off/ discourage others from continuing coming by here.

I also voted for re-designing the forums. So far I have no problem with navigation, however I prefer a dark color for the backgrounds of our posts. I used to post on forums a lot years ago and all the ones I liked most had usually a black background with white text or dark blue background. It's easier on the eyes. I might be able to change that in the settings for myself though, I haven't thought about checking til right now.

I also voted for bringing back forum gangs. I've never experienced that here, so I'm not sure what I missed, but it sounds interesting. I have actually posted on forums a while back that were labeled a 'GORM' which is a cross between 'forum' and 'game'. It was a very neat concept though. Basically you had factions you could join or create yourself, and could actually fight other posters on the forum. It was text based, but it wasn't as simple as just going into a thread and typing *enters thread and shoots at OP and leaves* though.

The account you used to post on was basically your avatar and you can equip yourself with weapons and armor. I don't remember how you actually initiated combat as it's been a few years now, but it was basically as if everyone had an Attack option on them in their posts and doing so would either warrant you a successful attack where you damaged/killed them depending on how high your skills were, or you failed to hit them. I think failing to harm them gave you soem kind of penalty.

Managing to kill your target rewarded you with money that can be used for better combat equipment.

But like I said, I'm new to these forums so I don't know how the gang thing here worked out, but as soon as I read that you guys had a gang system here I immediately thought of that. Personally I found it very fun.

But even though I haven't been here long, I think this could be a pretty fun place once the ball gets moving again. It's been a while since a new GTA was released, so inactivity for a GTA forum is gonna be a factor til a new game is announced. I do hope for the best though.

Well, I'm a newb compared to you vets of the site. One of my first impressions of TGTAP was that is more active than other sites that I have bounced around in, yet a mere shadow of days gone by.

As others have already pointed out, this is the "hoo-hum" period between 4 and 5. Yet we die-hard GTA gamers always yearn for something new and exciting to hold our collective interest in the meantime. Rockstar kind of helped with that with all of the sub-releases between III and IV: Vice City, San Andreas, etc. It has also been pointed out that IV is pretty much "unmodable". What has held my interest for quite some time is making mods for Vice City. I enjoy it and regard uploading mods for others to use as my own small way of helping to satisfy that "something new" craving (mostly with sexy women) until V becomes a reality.

The forums are important, of course, but try to bring more attention to the modding aspect of GTA. Mods could be the most abundant supply of "what's new" to draw from in order to keep interest alive in these older GTAs while we wait for V. Mods could also inspire more discussion in the forums as well. Incorporate your reward and/or competition possibilities with it as well if you believe that it could help. And/or a "what's new", "what's hot", "mod of the week, month, year" feature as well; or whatever else comes to mind.

Posted feedback/comments directly on individual mod pages for window shoppers to read and add to would definitely be a plus; if your server is capable.

Yup, I am a modder; more so that a forum poster, so sure I am a little biased I suppose. But mods could be the temporary something new during this down time... give people something to talk about.

Nope it isn't. There are even total conversions already: See this is the thing on this forum, it needs more people that are willing to post news and attract modders so they post their creations in here and keep people updated about modding and GTA evolution.